The Ecphorizer
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New is as new does This Christmas I was reminded of something that has bothered me my whole life. To begin with, I love Christmas carols. They get me into the holiday spirit, and because I hear them only once a year they never become boring. But when I tuned into carol [quoteright]programs on the radio this year, I never seemed to find them in an unadorned state. I could find "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" with a bossa nova beat, or a flash-dance version of "Hark the Herald Angels" or punk rock "Jingle Bells." But what had happened to the originals? It seems to me that they had fallen victim to a class of merchandising that one might call "noveltymongering." The novelty mongers make money by selling you something familiar tricked out in a new dress, as if it were something new. I have no objection to novelty per se. It is as essential to culture as seasoning is to cuisine. And I agree with the liberal argument that today's novelty is often tomorrow's classic. But I object when noveltymongering has either of these effects: The novelty element adds nothing to the original, like putting catsup on chocolate ice cream. It just clutters up our culture with noise. The worst part is that this kind of novelty is usually supported by the most pervasive advertising. Soap and cigarettes are sold this way.
The novelty version displaces the original. It becomes difficult, unfashionable, and expensive to root out the real thing. At first you only bear the burden of finding a store that sells ice cream without catsup. Ultimately, however, you find that the un-catsuped form is a "special order," available only from a few mail-order boutiques.
The flood of drivel from GEORGE TOWNER's word processor flows on, unabated by readers' protests or threats of boycott by the Pure English Language Preservation Society. You can read about George's latest book here! More Articles by George Towner |
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